Christiane’s Journal

About plants and life with them: in the garden, in the kitchen and through the changing seasons.

IssueSeptember 2026

Issue 01: Why we keep a journal

Our first issue follows elder and rosehip through the year. We look at growing elder, bringing in the harvest and the stories people have told about this plant for centuries.

Read this issue

In this issue

Through the seasons
The Round of the Year: Elder and Rosehip Through the Seasons
In the garden
Growing elderberry: tree, bush, or shrub, and how to plant it
At harvest time
The elderberry harvest: when is good enough?
History & tradition
The Holler-Frau: Elder in European Folk Belief
History & tradition
Elder in Antiquity: what Dioscorides and Pliny actually write

Explore by topic

All articles (5) →

Find the articles about a plant or a subject together, across all our issues.

How the journal began

In the 1980s, Christiane contributed to Austrian cooking, housekeeping and gardening magazines. We draw inspiration from that work, exploring plants, their histories and the questions that arise when we garden, cook and pay attention to what grows around us.

More about Christiane →